1973 Honda Civic

The 1973 Honda Civic is the first model year of the Civic. Honda unveiled it on 11 July 1972, though in Japan it went on sale as a 1973 model. It used a 1,169 cc water-cooled four-cylinder engine mounted transversely and driving the front wheels, almost double the displacement of the Honda N600, whose length, width, height and wheelbase the new platform increased. Power front disc brakes, reclining vinyl bucket seats and a dashboard with woodgrain trim came as standard, and the only extras were air conditioning, the two-speed Hondamatic automatic, radial tires and, on the hatchback, a rear wiper. The oil crisis of 1973 turned buyers toward economy cars and helped the Civic, which ranked third in the 1973 European Car of the Year voting.